Kyle Seager Completes Decathalon With Mariners Strapped To His Back

There is a lot to be said about Mike Zunino's at-bat to drive in the final run of the game, but considering I already wrote ~1000 words on him today, I need to ask a far more important question right now.

Have you seen this man?

Jose Rivera

Perhaps. But don't be fooled. While his public face may be that of an "aw shucks, just here to play ball" Carolina boy, this is not a man to be trifled with. His power is seemingly without end. His hunger for victory, insatiable. His zest for vengeance, unmatched. If you only remember one thing from this warning, however, remember this, friends.

This is Kyle Seager, Master of Streaks and Emperor of Extra Innings, and he does not give a @#!%.

You will know him by his swing.

You will know him by his weird habit of doing this in twos.

You will know him by his helm, battle-tested and earned through trial after trial.

Manny Acta on Twitter

Kyle Seager is an aberration. An anomaly. A glitch in the Matrix of Mariner fandom. How is it that he developed, when his more heralded peers went astray time and time again? How is it that he has been the one to save this team over the last five years over and over and over? Kyle Seager, after striking out brutally with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to render his WPA nearly irredeemable for the day, reloaded and returned with a swing of such certainty, it almost seems from the video that everyone knew it was a home run before contact was even made.

Earlier today the LL staff talked about our immense affection for Edgar Martínez. We spoke, too, of our desire to buffet his Hall of Fame chances, and the pleasure it brings us all to see him on a daily basis doing baseball work. It is hard to convince people who do not see the feats of your local heroes in their full splendor of their merit. Often, repeatedly pestering folks can have the opposite effect, and I do not know what the solution for this is. What I do know, however, is that we, Mariners fans collectively, can appreciate Edgar enough for the whole rest of the Hall of Fame combined.

it is my hope, though, that we can begin (or continue, of course) to appreciate and find joy and wonder in the Edgar of this generation: an unassuming 3rd baseman whose career path shares more than a few similarities with that of his hitting coach. Seager thankfully shares Martínez's penchant for timely hitting, as well. Seager helped us forget some questionable baserunning by Norichika Aoki. Seager helped us forget Leonys Martin setting a franchise record for K's in a game with five. Seager brushed aside the best efforts of the meat of the Tigers' order, and set the Mariners back on the path to victory.

Losing tonight would not have been the end of the world, but just like so many of the past few games they found a way to win.

This team has decided to be the team to Keep Fighting.

MLB.com

This team has decided that they Refuse To Lose.

MLB.com

GoMs.

GoDamnBiz.